The group describes itself as liberal and in support of free-market ideals. It grew out of protests demanding the impeachment of former president Dilma Rousseff and is gaining momentum.

Artists have criticised MBL for what they say is censorship.

Freedoms curtailed?

But one of its members, Arthur Moledo do Val, who has a popular YouTube Channel called MamaiFalei, disagrees.

“A boycott is an exercise in liberal citizenship because laws aren’t used to censure another person,” he says.

“We are against censorship, we support a boycott against an exhibition that society didn’t see as healthy for children.”

He does not agree that closing down the exhibition was an attack on freedom of expression.

“We believe in freedom of expression, not only for those people who are in favour of this kind of exhibition, but also for the people who are against it, like me,” he says.

“If we as a society are against that kind of exhibition, why can’t we be free to ask an institution to voluntarily close it? That too is freedom of expression is it not?”

Age-restricted

There have also been protests at the Modern Art Museum in Sao Paulo after a child was encouraged to touch a naked man in a piece of performance art.

In light of these protests, the curators at the Sao Paulo Museum of Art, one of the most influential museums in the country, are being extra careful with their new exhibition, Histories of Sexuality.

Image caption The Sao Paulo Museum of Art is hosting an exhibition called Histories of Sexuality

Some of the works in this exhibition already courted controversy in the Queer Museum.

So for the first time ever, after consulting lawyers, the gallery initially put an 18-and-over age restriction on visitors, something more commonly seen at music shows, plays and public presentations. Last week, they relaxed the rule to allow minors to attend the exhibition if they are accompanied by an adult.

“We’ve been planning this for over two years so it’s not that we decided to do this exhibition because it’s become such a polemic issue,” says Adriano Pedrosa, the museum’s artistic director.

“It’s good timing because the exhibition becomes really more relevant for this discussion. We were also fortunate not to be the very first ones so we had time to prepare ourselves, or to try to prepare ourselves.”

Pushing the boundaries

The museum’s view is that it is better to be safe than sorry. However, censorship expert Cristina Costa says that while every country has its taboos, art is meant to challenge conventions.

“The problem is that freedom of expression, as it is understood today, is the freedom of those who think like me, not the idea that pluralism exists,” says Ms Costa, who is the head of the Communication, Freedom of Expression and Censorship Observatory at the University of Sao Paulo.

“We had a century of authoritarianism, fascism, Nazism, Stalinism and other isms. We’re having a hard time dealing with diversity,” she says.

Divided politics

Theatre director Natalia Mallo believes the protests are political.

Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage caption The closure of some of the exhibitions has triggered anti-censorship rallies

“This is not meant to protect the family or children from naked people or from art that is inappropriate, this is about elections and gathering people around a narrative that this is bad,” she says.

“It’s a way of creating consensus around things that are controversial and where people choose sides.”

At the end of her play, there is a round of applause and the audience starts chanting “Out with President Temer”.

For many, what is happening in Brazil’s creative spaces is a reflection of the politics here.

And the divide between left and right is set to become even more polarised ahead of general elections, due to take place next year.